Internal combustion engine



R. CHICUREL INTERNAL COMBUSTIONENGINE April 25, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7Filed Sept. 27, 1965 IN VEN TOR. RICARDO CHICUREL P 5 1957 R. CHICUREL3,315,653

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Sept. 27, 1965 2 SheetsSheet 2 L.[ I 6OINVENTOR.

RICARDO CHlC-UREL IHHIHIHI I/ l IIIHHIIWLUH 54 w FIG.3

United States Patent 3,315,653 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE RicardoChicurel, 703 Palmer Drive, Blacksburg, Va. 24060 Filed Sept. 27, 1965,Ser. No. 490,238 16 Claims. (Cl. 12377) This invention relates tointernal combustion engines and more particularly to a four-cycleinternal combustion engine of flat symmetrical construction.

In the smaller sizes, internal combustion engines are generallyvertical, single acting engines, however, automotive, rail-car, andmarine engines usually have two banks of cylinders, being called V-typeengines from the arrangement of the two banks. Aircraft engines may havetheir cylinders arranged in line, in line inverted, radial (in one ormore banks), or opposed (quite often horizontal). Larger sizeinternal-combustion engines may be either vertical or horizontal, thelarger of the horizontal ones quite often being double-acting. Somelarge vertical engines are also double-acting, and a special type ofengines is the opposed-piston engine wherein the cylinder is verticaland contains a piston in either end.

The structure of generally known internal combustion engines is complexand such engines require sensitively machined parts of extremely smalltolerances. Parts wear is not uniform and maintenance and reconstructionis an extremely delicate and expensive process since the components arediflicult to disassemble and reassemble and require the services ofhighly skilled mechanics.

Four-cycle internal combustion engines have been skillfully developed toobtain a high efiiciency particularly with regard to conventionallymanufactured four-cycle engines. The inherent weakness in a four-cycleengine ,is, of course, that there must be two full crank revolutions toachieve one power stroke within the engine cylinder Two-cycle engineshave been developed which will operate through a complete cycle in onecrank revolution, however, the high thermal efliciency obtainable withinthe conventional four-cycle engine is not usually retained.

The present invention retains the advantages and efficiency of aconventional four-strokecycle in that the compression and expansionstrokes are used, yet only one crank revolution carries the enginethrough an entire four-stroke cycle in contrast to the two fullrevolutions that are normally required. Accordingly, a very high outputtorque is realized without a loss in efliciency.

Other advantages from the present concept are that there are onl ya fewparts involved which are realtively easy to machine. Since constructionis extremely simple, maintenance, repair and reconstruction expenses areheld to a minimum. Additionally, the present unit is readily adaptableto tandem or ganged assembly or positioning so that several individualunits may be combined to obtain a higher horsepower output.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide afour-cycle internal combustion engine having an extremely simple andinexpensive structural composition of relatively few parts which arecomparatively easy to machine.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a four-cycleinternal combustion engine retaining the high thermal efficiency of aconventional four-stroke piston engine yet having the ability tocomplete a complete cycle in one crank revolution instead of the tworevolution normally required in conventional four-stroke engines.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a four-cycleinternal combustion engine having a higher output torque than previouslyobtainable with conventional four-cycle engines.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro- "ice vide afour-cycle internal combustion engine that can be constructed andutilized to occupy a minimum of space and be placed in any desiredposition for efficient operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a four-cycleinternal combustion engine that is adaptable to being combined with oneor more individual units of the same description Where higher horsepoweroutputs are required.

These together withother object and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andoperation shown and described, as more fully hereinafter-described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a parthereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and inwhich;

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components in thepreferred embodiment of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the assembled components of FIG. 1 in whichthe orientation of the internal components are shown by hidden lines;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view of the assembled components ofFIG. 1 in which the orientation of the internal components is shown byhidden lines; and

FIGS.4(a) through (i) are a diagrammaticsequential portrayalillustrating the engine operation in eight different stages through allfour cycles and one complete crank revolution.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, wherein thereis shown an exploded perspective view of the various components of theinvention, a fiat rectangular shaped frame or housing generallydesignated 10 provides a support or'retaining member for the in dividualelements. Follower ridges 12 are integrally carried along twoparallelsides of frame 10, preferably the longer sides, to form a recesstrough or channel -14 within which the components to be subsequentlydescribed will be slidably and reciprocally retained. A .pair offollowers 16 are placed within trough 14 for reciprocal and slidablemovement therein. Each of the followers 16 is constructed as a righttriangle with the hypotenuse or base portion of that triangle 18 restingagainst the interior edge 20 or ridge 12 for slidable displacementtherealong when the followers 16 are actuated. The followers have athickness 22' corresponding to the height 24 of ridge 12 so that theupper surface of the component carrying frame or housing 10 may besealably secured as will be subsequently described.

A pair of actuators 26 are positioned withinframe 10 to provide thesynchronized reciprocating movement to followers \16. Each of theactuators 26 has two leading follower engaging edges 28 and 30 whichintersect at right angles so that these edges 28 and 30 supplement thefollower right triangle legs 32 and 34. As a result, all edges areuniformly adjoined to provide a continuous seal as the follower andactuator members move with respect to one another.

One of the actuators has a recessed portion or tip 36 which is recessedat the apex of the ninety degree angle formed by edges 28 and 30 of thatactuator member 26. This recess 36 forms a combustion pocket to carrythe ignition element. Each of the actuators 26 is supported by a crankgenerally designated 38 which has a fiat base member 40 carrying a pivothub 42 which is cooperatively received by a recess 44 in actuator 26.Crank 38 has an output shaft 46 which extends from the opposite side ofbase member 40 through an aperture 48 in frame 10.

.Since pivot pin 42 rotates within recess 44 of actuator 26, an arcuatesurface 50 is provided to allow passage of the front extending portion52 of base member 40 as the entlre crank 38 rotates with respect toactuator 26.

The actuators 26 have a curvilinear translational motion so that eachpoint thereon moves in a circular path of radius equal to the length ofthe crank throw which is base member 40. No rotational motion of theactuators 26 is possible due to the continuous contact of edges 28 and30 of the actuators with edges 32 and 34 of the followers. The followers16, in turn, are constrained by the follower guides 12 to areciprocating motion only.

Each output shaft 46 is rigidly attached to a gear 54 which is notched56 along its periphery to positively engage and mesh with the secondgear, this engagement serving to maintain output shafts in registry andalignment. The two gears are identical and mesh with each other so thattheir rotations are in opposite senses or directions (see arrows), butat the same angular speed. Both gears 54 are provided with couplingshafts 53 which are used to rotatably drive any desired mechanism.

A frame or housing cover plate 60 sealably closes trough 14 of frame andcompletes the housing structure for holding the reciprocating actuatorsand followers. Plate 60 has an arcuately shaped intake port 62critically positioned to coincide With recess tip or combustion pocket36 during the subsequent intake cycle later to be described. A similarlyshaped exhaust port 64 selectively communicates with recess tip orcombustion pocket 36 during the exhaust cycle of the engine to allow theproducts of combustion to be expelled and removed therethrough.

When the engine is assembled, each actuator 26 contacts the twofollowers 16 in such a way that a square shaped opening 66 is formed bythe edges 28, 30, 32 and 34 of these members. The opening 66 varies insize as the actuators 26 and followers 16 slide relative to one anotherand to the frame 10. The actuators and followers are sandwiched-inbetween the cover plate 60 and the recessed trough 14 of frame 10 sothat the square opening formed thereby becomes an enclosed compressionchamber bounded on all sides. During particular phases of the operationwhich will be subsequently described in detail, there is access tochamber 66 to permit flow of air, or air-fuel mixture, and of exhaustgasses. This access is created whenever the recessed or steppeddown tip36 of one of the actuators 26 comes under one of the two elongated ports62 or 64 cut out in the cover plate 60. These intake and exhaust portshave the shape of circular arcs subtending somewhat less than 90 degreeseach.

Note that each actuator 26 has a recessed arcuate portion 50 in order toprovide a clearance space for rotating crank 38. The crank throws oroffsets are so oriented that they are simultaneously parallel to thefollower guides 12 in frame 10. This occurs twice every revolution.Between these two times, there are intermediate positions in which thethrows are at right angles to the follower guides 12 and extend inopposite directions. Thus the actuators 26 reach simultaneously theirextreme positions in a direction parallel to the follower guides 12 andalso reach simultaneously their extreme positions, on opposite sides, ina transverse direction.

The actuators 26 have a curvilinear translational motion so that eachpoint thereon moves in a circular path of radius equal to the length ofthe crank arm or throw 40. No rotational motion of the actuators 26 ispossible due to the contact with the enumerated follower edges. Thefollowers 16, in turn, are constrained by the follower guides 12 to areciprocating motion only.

Referring no wto FIG. 4 which shows an operational sequence indiagrammatic form, note that the cover plate 60 is not shown and theintake and exhaust ports 62 and 64 are indicated with broken lines. Forpurposes of illustration, the right hand actuator connected crank 38 hasa counterclockwise rotation. The sequential portrayal is presented as aseries of confiugrations at intervals of 45 degreesof crank rotation. InFIG. 4w, the actuators 26 are in their extreme positions to the rightwhich is the beginning of an engine cycle. Note that in this position,the compression chamber 66 is non-existent since the leading edges ofthe actuators and follows 28, 30, 32 and 34 sealably meet to form twoabutting supplementary angles. In FIG. 4b, chamber 66 is formed andbegins to increase in size thus creating suction to impel air or airfuel mixture into the chamber through the intake port 62. Recessed tipor combustion pocket 36 of the right hand actuator 26 communicates withport 62 for a predetermined period of time according to the length ofthe circular arc therein. In FIG. 40, intake port 62 has just closed andthe chamber 66 is at maximum volume. Once the cycle passes this point,compression begins as the volume of chamber 66 starts decreasing whileboth ports 62 and 64 are closed. FIG. 4d corresponds to the mid-point ofthe compression cycle. In FIG. 4e, compression is completed since thevolume of chamber 66 is at a minimum, and either a spark ignites theair-fuel mixture (not shown) or fuel is injected under pressure to beignited upon contact with the hot, compressed air. Means for producing aspark or injecting the fuel would be as in conventional spark ignitionor compression ignition engines. As the rotation of crank 38 proceedsfurther, a power stroke results with expansion of the hot gas andproducts of combustion which does work on the actuators 26 that is inturn transmitted to output shafts 46. In FIG. 4f, there is depicted anintermediate stage of the power stroke while FIG. 4g illustrates thepoint of maximum expansion of chamber 66. The exhaust port 64 startsopening to commence the exhaust stroke as the volume decreases. In FIG.411, the exhaust stroke is partially completed; and FIG. 41', which isidentical to FIG. 4a, represents the termination of the exhause stroke,the end of the complete engine cycle and the beginning of a new cycleidentical to that previously described. Power is delivered through thecoupling shaft 58 as its carrying gear 54 rotates in response to themovement of output shaft 46 of crank 38.

The following example shows the velocity relationships in this device.

O 0 represent the gear axes. A and A are the points of connectionbetween crangs and actuators. F and F designate the followers 16. Themechanism is represented in an arbitrary configuration as shown in FIG.2. The angles A O O and (180O O A are equal, since they represent thecrank rotation from the positive alignment of the cranks with the axis 00 The above diagram is a velocity vector diagram which shows theconsistency of the motions of all members while each actuator slidesrelative to each follower. V the velocity of A is perpendicular to O Aand thus makes an angle (0) with 0 0 The velocity of F relative to Adenoted by V /A is always at 45 degrees to 0 0 since actuator 1 and thefollower F must, slide relative to each other along their contactingedges. Similarly, V A is parallel to the left edge of F The figure showsthat V is obtained by vector addition of V and V /A or by vectoraddition of V and V /A whereas V is the vector sum of V and V /A or Vand V /A There is symmetry in the diagram about a horizontal axis.

The present invention may be constructed in a variety of adaptablematerials for withstanding a high temperature range and follower guides12 may be separately or integrally formed with frame member 10. Thecover plate 60 may be attached by conventional means to edges 12 offrame to form trough 14 such as by bolts 68, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.Gaskets 70 or other sealing means may be used to provide a sealedjunction between cover plate 60 and the follower edges 12.

Obviously, many modifications and variations may be made in theconstruction and arrangement of the followers and actuators as well asthe crank and gear assemblies as well as the height, length andthickness of the motor housing as well as the other phases of thepresent inventive concept in light of the the above teachings withoutdeparting from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. Suchmodifications in parts and alternatives as well as the use of mechanicalequivalents to those herein illustrated and described are reasonablyincluded, and modifications are contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A four-cycle fuel-operated combustion engine comprisnig: a motorhousing; compression chamber defining means within said housingincluding follower means and actuator means in engagement and slidablyand sealably cooperating to continuously vary the volume of saidchamber; ignition means selectively operable within said chamber; adrive shaft having means operable within said actuator means to impartrotation to said shaft; a cover plate removably retaining and sealings'aid follower and actuator means within said housing; said plate havingan intake and exhaust port selectively communicating within said definedchamber to receive and exhaust fuel therefrom.

2. A four-cycle fuel-operated internal combustion engine comprising incombination: a housing; follower means carried by and reciprocallyslidable within said housing; actuator means slidably engaging saidfollower means within said housing, said follower means and actuatormeans defining a variable volume compression chamber; ignition meansoperatively positioned proximate said pocket; output shaft meansoperatively connected with said actuator means to impart rotation tosaid shaft means; and a housing cover plate sealably retaining saidfollower and actuator means slidably within said housing, said platehaving an intake port and an exhaust port, said ports selectivelycommunicating with said combustion chamber as said chamber varies involume whereby a combustible substance is injected into the compressionchamber through the intake port, the chamber is decreased in size by thecooperative movement of the follower means and actuator means, thecompressed substance is ignited by the ignition means, the output shaftmeans is revolved by the actuator means as the compression chamber isincreased in size and the products of combustion are expelled throughthe exhaust port.

3. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: aframe having ridges along two parallel sides, said sides forming arecess trough within said frame; a pair of followers, each followerforming a right triangle having two sides and a hypotenuse, saidtriangular shaped follower being slidably disposed within said frame formovement along said frame ridge by said triangle hypotenuse; a pair ofactuators each having at least two leading follower engaging edges atright angles to each other, said edges engaging said followerscontinuously to slidably and reciprocally displace said followers inopposite directions from each other within said frame trough, saidactuators and followers reciprocally and cooperatively operable to forma continuously changing compression chamber bounded by said actuatorsand followers, one of said actuators having a combustion pocket at saidright angle engaging edges; ignition means operable with said chamber;crank means rotatably secured to each of said actuators, each of saidmeans having an output shaft rotatably extending through said frame andmoving in response to the movement of said actuator; a gear connected toeach of said output shafts, each of said shaft gears having a notchedperiphery to positively engage and mesh with the other of said gears,said gears having an opposite rotation each from the other; and a coverplate sealably closing said frame 'and said contained followers andactuators, said plate having an intake port and an exhaust portextending through said plate and selectively communicating with saidcombustion pocket whereby fuel is injected into the combustion pocketthrough the intake port, compressed within the decreasing compressionchamber, ignited by ignition means thereby increasing the compressionchamber to forcibly rotate the crank and connected output shafts, andexhausted through the exhaust port.

4. A four-cycle fuel-operated internal combustion engine comprising incombination: a frame; a pair of followers carried by and reciprocallyslidable within said frame; apair of actuators, each actuator slidablyengaging said pair of followers for slidable and reciprocal movementalong said frame; a continuously varying compression chamber formed bysaid followers and actuators; output shaft means operatively connectedwith said actuators for rotation; ignition means communicating with saidchamber; and a cover plate secured against said plate and sealablyhousing said followers, actuators and chamber, said plate having anintake and exhaust port selectively communicating with said chamber forfuel passage theret-hrough whereby a combustible substance is injectedinto the compression chamber through the intake port, the chamber isdecreased in size by the cooperative movement of the followers andactuators, the compressed substance is ignited by ignition means throughthe combustion pocket, the output shaft means is revloved by theactuators as the compression chamber is increased in size and theproducts of combustion are expelled through the exhaust port.

'5. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: ahousing, follower means carried by said housing; actuator means engagingsaid follower means, said follower means and actuator meanscooperatively defining a variable compression chamber upon movement withrespect to each other; a combustion pocket communicating with saidchamber, ignition means adjacent said pocket; an output shaft havingmeans operatively connected with said actuator means to impart rotationto said shaft; and a housing cover plate retaining said follower andactuator means within said housing, said plate having an intake andexhaust port selectively communicating with said chamber as saidfollower means and actuator means movably define said chamber whereby acombustible substance is injected into the compression chamber throughthe intake port, the chamber is decreased in size by the cooperativemovement of the follower means and actuator means, the compressedsubstance is ignited by ignition means through the combustion pocket,the output shaft is revolved by the actuator means as the compressionchamber is increased in size and the products of combustion are expelledthrough the exhaust port.

6. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: aframe having ridges along two parallel sides; a pair of followers, eachfollower forming a right triangle, said triangle being slidably disposedwithin said frame for movement along said frame ridge; a pair ofactuators each having at least two leading follower engaging edges atright angles to each other, said edges engaging said followerscontinuously to slidably and reciprocally displace said followers inopposite directions from each other within said frame; a compressionchamber being formed and bounded by said reciprocable actuators andfollowers, one of said actuators having a combustion pocket recessedtherein; ignition means communicating with said pocket; crank meansrotatably secured to each of said actuators, each of said means havingan output shaft rotatably extending through said frame and moving inresponse to the movement of said actuator; a gear connected to each ofsaid output shafts; and a cover plate sealably closing said frame andsaid contained followers and actuators, said plate having an intake portand an exhaust port extending therethrough whereby fuel is injected intothe combustion pocket through the intake port, compressed within thedecreasing compression chamber, ignited by ignition means therebyincreasing the compression chamber to forceably rotate the crank andconnected output shafts, and exhausted through the exhaust port.

7. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: aframe; a pair of followers carried by and slidable within said frame; apair of actuators, each actuator slidably engaging said pair offollowers for slidable and reciprocal movement along said frame; acompression chamber being defined by said continuously moving followersand actuators, one of said actuators having a combustion pocketcontinuously communicating with said chamber; output shaft meansoperatively connected with said actuators for rotation; ignition meansproximate said combustion pocket; and a cover plate secured against saidframe and sealably housing said followers, actuators and cooperativelyformed varying chamber, said plate having an intake and exhaust portselectively communicab ing with said varying combustion pocket whereby acombustible substance is injected into the compression chamber throughthe intake port, the chamber is decreased in size by the cooperativemovement of the followers and actuators, the compressed substance isignited by ignition means through the combustion pocket, the outputshaft means is revolved by the actuators as the compression chamber isincreased in size and the products of combustion are expelled throughthe exhaust port.

8. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combustion: arectangular frame having follower ridges along two parallel frame sides;a recessed trough defined by ridges and sides; a pair of followers, eachfollower forming a right triangle having sides and a hypotenuse andbeing reciprocally disposed within said frame to slidably move andengage said frame ridge along said follower hypotenuse; a pair ofactuators each having leading follower engaging edges at right angles toeach other, said edges engaging said follower triangle sidescontinuously to displace slidably and reciprocally said followers inopposite paths of travel within said frame recessed trough, saidactuators and followers slidably operable to define a continuouslychanging compression chamber, one of said actuators having a combustionpocket at said engaging edges; a crank rotatably secured to each of saidactuators, each of said cranks having an output shaft rotatablyextending through said frame and moving with said actuator as saidactuator follows a substantially circular path of travel; a gearconnected to each of said output shafts, each of said gears having anotched periphery to positively engage and mesh with the other of saidgears, said gears having an opposite rotation each from the other; and acover plate sealably closing said frame and said contained followers andactuators, said plate having an intake port and an exhaust portextending therethrough for selectively communicating with saidcombustion pocket whereby a combustible substance is injected into thecombustion pocket through the intake port, compressed within theactuator control decreasing compression chamber and ignited by ignitionmeans, the compression chamber is rapidly increased to forceably rotatethe crank and connected output shafts, and the products of combustionare exhausted through the exhaust port.

9. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: aframe having follower ridges; a pair of followers reciprocally disposedwithin said frame to slidably move and engage said frame ridge; a pairof actuators each having leading follower engaging edges to displaceslidably and reciprocally said followers within said frame, saidactuators and followers slidably defining a continuously changingcompression chamber, one of said actuators having a combustion pocketrecessed therein; a crank rotatably secured to each of said actuators,each of said cranks having an output shaft rotatably extending throughsaid frame; a gear connected to each of said output shafts, each of saidgears having a notched periphery to positively engage and mesh with theother of said gears; and a cover plate retaining said followers andactuators against said frame, said plate having an intake port and anexhaust port extending therethrough selectively communicating with saidcombustion pocket whereby a combustible substance is injected into thecombustion pocket through the intake port, compressed within theactuator control decreasing compression chamber and ignited by ingitionmeans, the compression chamber is rapidly increased to forceably rotatethe crank and connected output shafts, and the products of combustionare exhausted through the exhaust port.

10. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: arectangular frame having follower ridges; a pair of followers beingreciprocally disposed within said frame and engaging said ridges; a pairof actuators engaging said followers, said actuators and followersmovably defining a continuously changing compression chamber, one ofsaid actuators having a combustion pocket; a crank rotatably secured toeach of said actuators, each of said cranks having an output shaftrotatably extending through said frame and moving said actuator in asubstantially circular path of travel; gear means connected to each ofsaid output shafts, each of said means having a notched periphery topositively engage and mesh with the other of said means, said gear meanshaving an opposite rotation each from the other; and a cover platesealably closing said frame and said contained followers and actuators,said plate having an intake port and an exhaust port extendingther-ethrough whereby a combustible substance is injected into thecombustion pocket through the intake port, compressed within thecompression chamber and ignited by ignition means, the compressionchamber is rapidly increased to forceably rotate the crank and connectedoutput shafts, and the products of combustion are exhausted through theexhaust port.

11. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: aframe, follower means carried by and reciprocally slidable within saidframe; actuator means slidably engaging said follower means, saidfollower means and actuator means cooperatively forming a compressionchamber which continuously varies in size as said follower means andsaid actuator means move with respect to each other; a combustion pocketcontinuously communicating with said chamber, ignition means proximatesaid chamber; an output shaft having means operatively connected withsaid actuator means to impart rotation to said shaft; and a frame coverplate sealably retaining said follower and actuator means within saidhousing, said plate having an intake and exhaust port selectivelycommunicating with said combustion chamber whereby a combustiblesubstance is injected into the compression chamber through the intakeport, the chamber is decreased in size by the cooperative movement ofthe follower means and actuator means, the compressed substance isignited by ignition means through the combustion pocket, the outputshaft is revolved by the actuator means as the compression chamber isincreased in size and the products of combustion are expelled throughthe exhaust port.

12. A four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising in combination: aframe; follower means slidably carried within said frame; actuator meansslidably engaging said follower means, said follower means and actuatormeans cooperatively forming a variable volume compression chamber assaid follower means and said actuator means move with respect to eachother and said frame; a com bustion pocket operative with said chamber;ignition means communicating with said pocket and said chamber; anoutput shaft having means operatively connected with said actuator meansto impart rotation to said shaft; and a frame cover plate sealablyretaining said follower and actuator means and said combustion chamberwithin said housing, said plate having an intake and exhaust portselectively communicating with said combustion chamber whereby acombustible substance is injected into the compression chamber throughthe intake port, the chamber is decreased in size by the cooperativemovement of the follower means and actuator means, the compressedsubstance is ignited by ignition means through the combustion pocket,the output shaft is revolved by the actuator means as the compressionchamber is increased in size and the products of combustion are expelledthrough the exhaust port.

13. A four-cycle fuel-operated internal combustion engine comprising: amotor housing; a variable compression chamber within said housingincluding follower means and actuator means in engagement and slidablyand sealably cooperating to define said chamber; ignition meansselectively operable with said chamber; a drive shaft operable with saidactuator means to cause said shaft to be rotated thereby; a cover plateremovably retaining and sealing said follower and actuator means withinsaid housing, said plate having an intake and exhaust port selectivelycommunicating with said defined chamber to pass fuel therethrough.

14. A four-cycle fuel-operated internal combustion engine comprising: amotor housing; compression chamber defining means within said housingincluding at least one follower and one actuator in slidable engagementwith each other and a variable volume chamber formed by said followerand actuator; ignition means selectively operable with said chamber; adrive shaft having means operable with said actuator means to impartrotation to said shaft; a cover plate removably retaining and sealingsaid follower and actuator within said housing, said plate having anintake and exhaust port selectively communicating with said chamber toallow the passage of fuel therethrough.

15. A four-cycle fuel-operated internal combustion engine comprising: amotor housing; compression chamber defining means within said housingincluding a plurality of followers and actuators in engagement andslidably cooperating to define said chamber; ignition means selectivelyoperable with said chamber; a drive shaft having means operable withsaid actuators to impart rotation to said shaft; a cover plate removablyretaining and sealing said followers and actuators within said housing,said plate having an intake and exhaust means selectively communicatingwith said defined chamber to pass fuel therethrough.

16. A four-cycle fuel-operated internal combustion engine comprising: amotor housing; a variable compression chamber within said housingincluding a pair of followers and a pair of actuators in engagement withsaid followers and slidably and sealably cooperating to define and varysaid chamber; ignition means selectively operable with said chamber; adrive shaft having means operable with said actuator means to impartrotation to said shaft; a cover plate removably retaining and sealingsaid followers and actuators Within said housing, said plate having anintake and exhaust port selectively communicating with said chamber topass fuel therethr-ough.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,406,072 2/19'22Pearsall 123-77 1,718,070 6/1929 Peters 12351 1,802,881 4/1931 Dainton12351 3,196,854 7/1965 Novak 1238 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,128,173 8/1956France.

MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

W. E. BURNS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A FOUR-CYCLE FUEL-OPERATED COMBUSTION ENGINE COMPRISING: A MOTORHOUSING; COMPRESSION CHAMBER DEFINING MEANS WITHIN SAID HOUSINGINCLUDING FOLLOWER MEANS AND ACTUATOR MEANS IN ENGAGEMENT AND SLIDABLYAND SEALABLY COOPERATING TO CONTINUOUSLY VARY THE VOLUME OF SAIDCHAMBER; IGNITION MEANS SELECTIVELY OPERABLE WITHIN SAID CHAMBER; ADRIVE SHAFT HAVING MEANS OPERABLE WITHIN SAID ACTUATOR MEANS TO IMPARTROTATION TO SAID SHAFT; A COVER PLATE REMOVABLY RETAINING AND SEALINGSAID FOLLOWER AND ACTUATOR MEANS WITHIN SAID HOUSING; SAID PLATE HAVINGAN INTAKE AND EXHAUST PORT SELECTIVELY COMMUNICATING WITHIN SAID DEFINEDCHAMBER TO RECEIVE AND EXHAUST FUEL THEREFROM.